Jessica heaved an overly dramatic sigh. “I don’t know why nobody wants to touch my pussycat of a horse.” She whistled softly to Rampage, who trotted over.
Skyler grinned. She liked this more relaxed side of Jessica much better than the haughty debutante from the day before. She didn’t want to be charmed by Kate’s pet, but damn it all, Jessica was hard to resist.
*
Jessica pulled a folder from the leather attaché that held her laptop and handed it to Skyler as they settled onto the couch in the living room. “These are the records I’m supposed to give to the physical therapist who will be working with me here.”
Skyler opened the file and began to read. She did not have a medical background, but her years as an athlete and her experience working with horse athletes gave her enough knowledge of sports injuries to understand much of the report. After several minutes, she said, “This type of injury would be career ending for most athletes. If you were a horse, I would have immediately put you out to pasture.”
Jessica had expected the sympathetic tone, and the fact that Skyler would pull no punches. She stared hard into Skyler’s eyes. “When she first dreamed of the Olympics, Wilma Rudolph was a skinny girl recovering from polio. They said she would never walk again without braces. But she didn’t give up. She limped until she could walk, then walked until she could run, and then ran until that gold medal was hanging around her neck.”
“That was almost fifty years ago,” Skyler said. “The competition is even tougher now.”
Jessica was under no illusions about that. “Maybe my knee won’t hold up. But maybe it will. Either way, I’m not going to spend the rest of my life wondering. I intend to find out for sure.”
Skyler laid the medical records aside. “Let’s see that knee, then.”
Jessica stood and quickly dropped her jeans to expose her legs. A blush warmed her face. It wasn’t just that Skyler’s eyes were fixed on her string bikini panties rather than her knee; the disapproving scowl on her face made Jessica self-conscious.
“I’m hoping that isn’t what you wear under your riding breeches,” Skyler said.
“I…what should I be wearing?” Jessica felt exposed standing there in her skivvies, but Skyler’s tone was all business.
“You should be wearing compression shorts.”
“You mean like basketball players wear?”
“They’ll support the major muscles that attach to your knee. Pick up five or six pairs at the sports shop in town.”
Jessica nodded. “Okay, compression shorts.”
“And an elastic support sleeve for that knee,” Skyler instructed. “A huge part of training is working to ensure both you and your horse do not suffer injuries that will lessen your competitive chances. You wrap your horse’s legs before you take him out to jump, don’t you? Why shouldn’t you take the same precaution for your legs?”
“I’ll wrap the knee,” Jessica repeated.
“Have a seat.” Skyler waved a hand toward the couch before taking a seat herself on an ottoman next to it. “Prop your leg right here.”
Jessica sat and plopped her good leg in Skyler’s lap with a saucy smile. When Skyler rolled her eyes, she switched legs, warning, “It looks worse than it is.”
Skyler probed, then carefully flexed the knee in all directions. “How much do you still use that cane?”
“Less and less often. If I’ve been sitting too long, it gets stiff and it still aches when I’ve worked it too much. I use the cane to give it a break when I’m not riding.”
Skyler’s long fingers slid down the angry-looking surgery scars on Jessica’s shin. “You must have taken some spill to do this much damage.”
It had been the worst moment of Jessica’s life. She stared past Skyler, picturing the sky that day. Clouds were gathering and the wind was beginning to sway the trees on the cross-country course. She and her dappled gray Thoroughbred, Racer, were only a half point away from taking the lead in the competition. Racer was in top form and they’d sailed over the course, but the encroaching storm was beginning to distract him. The next jump was not one of the gelding’s favorites. The approach was downhill and required that the competitor clear a fence and land in knee-deep water.
Jessica felt his tension as they neared the jump. “You can do this, boy,” she’d urged.
Her sure hands relayed her confidence to the gelding and his ears pricked forward in anticipation. Just as they launched into the air, lightning split the darkening sky and thunder boomed. Racer twisted in midair, landing all of his weight on his right front leg. A sickening crack resonated in Jessica’s ears and she felt them tumbling as Racer screamed. Pain shot up her leg. She struggled to breathe as many hands held her head and shoulders above the water. Was that her or Racer screaming?
“She’s hung up in the saddle or something,” someone yelled. “Cut her free. Hold that horse down until we can get her free.”
Another voice, harsh with horror. “Oh God, look at his leg. Somebody get the vet here quick.”
“Racer!” she heard herself scream.
Skyler felt Jessica shudder. The color had drained from her face and a fine sheen of sweat covered her brow. “Jessica?”
The vacant blue eyes refocused. “That spot is sensitive to touch because of the pins still in the bone.” Jessica’s voice was thin. “I’m still icing the knee occasionally, when it swells, and I’m scheduled to work with a therapist three days a week here on the farm.”
Her tension stiffened the muscles beneath Skyler’s hands. Sensing she’d entered sensitive territory, Skyler carefully moved upward, testing the tone of the calf muscle. “It’s important that you tell me when it swells or gets too painful so I can adjust your training schedule appropriately. It doesn’t mean we have to stop, it just means we may need to change the order in which we do some things, or find a way to compensate for any weakness in the joint.”
Jessica tried hard to focus on what Skyler was saying, but it was getting difficult. She despaired at the heat she felt flush her cheeks as Skyler’s hands moved higher up her thigh. But Skyler seemed oblivious, frowning as she resumed her probing back toward the knee, her manner exact and clinical.
“I’ll also want to talk periodically with your physical therapist so I can coordinate what we’re doing with what he is asking you to do. So, you need to let him know it is okay to discuss your case with me.”
“Okay.” Jessica was less than enthusiastic. She liked her privacy. “I’ve been riding on it for five weeks now, and jumping for about two weeks. It’s been holding up fine.”
Skyler was skeptical, but it wasn’t her job to give a prognosis for Jessica’s knee. Her job was to train her for the Olympic trials. If the leg didn’t hold up, it wouldn’t be because she hadn’t given it her best as a trainer. “We’ll start at seven tomorrow morning in the indoor ring. I want to see you warm him up and run him through the dressage moves.”
“Thank you. I promise you won’t be sorry.” Jessica slid her leg off the firm length of Skyler’s thigh and stood, not sure what else to say. She felt drained, but elated too.
As she pulled up her jeans, Skyler asked, “If you see Kate, would you mind telling her I want to talk to her about our last grain shipment before I leave?”
“Sure, I think she’s upstairs. I’ll send her down.”
Skyler waited, staring uneasily out the window. She was crazy agreeing to this and she intended to say so, not that Kate would listen. Surely she knew deep down that Jessica had almost no chance. It seemed cruel to let her hope for the impossible.
“What’s up, Sky?” Kate strolled across the room toward her.
Skyler dug an invoice out of her pocket. “That last shipment of grain you got from Emerson’s has maggots in it. You need to call them to come back and get it.”
Kate let out a disgusted snort. “That’s the second time this year. I think it is time to take them off our vendor list.”
“You won’t get any argument from me.”
“So?” Kate met her eyes. “What do you think?”
“About the maggots?”
“About Jess’s chances.”
Skyler took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “You don’t want to know what I think.”
“Yes, I do.”
“Kate, you may be right about Jessica having the skill and the heart to do this, but she isn’t being honest with herself. That knee isn’t ready to hold up to the kind of training we’ll need to do.”
“We can’t be certain about that,” Kate said stubbornly. “Athletes come back from serious injuries all the time.”
“It’s not just the injury.” Skyler let her frustration show a little. “This process was hard for me when I did it. Not only did I have two good knees, I was used to life being hard. I was mentally tough. Forget her leg, I think Jess is still too mentally fragile from the trauma of the accident. You should have seen her zone out on me when I mentioned it.”
Kate rested a shoulder against the window frame. “My first instinct is to protect her from hurting herself more, but this is her decision, not ours. If we don’t help her, she’ll just go to someone else who won’t care as much about her welfare.”
“I’ll put her through the training she’ll need to win. Just don’t blame me if she falls short. I’m not a miracle worker.”
“I’m just asking you to give her your best, Sky.” Kate’s tone brooked no further argument. “Your best, and nothing short of it.”
*
Jessica sagged against the wall just outside the living room door. Skyler’s words scalded her, rubbing every tender nerve raw. She retreated hastily down the hallway as she heard the two women approaching. Taking cover in the kitchen, she poured some juice. Her hand shook as she held the glass. Skyler didn’t believe in her. Arrogant son of a bitch. I’ll show Her Royal Highness. Even Kate sounded unconvinced.
She would show them both just how little they knew. She hadn’t survived that day to spend the rest of her life mourning for all she’d lost. Her horse. Her strength. Her confidence. There was one thing she hadn’t lost. Her dream.
Chapter Five
Sweat ran down her face with each leg extension. She used her anger to lift the weight around her ankle. She refused to acknowledge her anger was fueled by the fact that Skyler’s assessment had given voice to her own nagging doubts. Next was twenty minutes in the hot tub beside the pool to loosen up the muscles she’d just worked, fifteen minutes icing the knee against swelling, and then down to the barn to saddle Rampage.
The Olympic-sized swimming pool sat under a glass dome adjacent to the fully equipped gym. Jessica hobbled out to the main room and dipped her fingers into the Jacuzzi to test the temperature, then looked around for her gym bag. Oh, crap. She was still half-asleep when she’d stumbled out of bed, and had forgotten to add her swimsuit to the rest of her workout gear. No way was she walking all the way to the house to get it.
She glanced around. The farm outside the pool’s dome remained dark except for a few lights in the barns that probably were left on overnight.She turned off the overhead lights and left only the pool lights burning. The water in the hot tub was very warm and she felt the tension begin to leave her body as she floated in the silence. Just relax. Think about Rampage. Don’t think about Miss I’ve-Got-a-Gold-Medal. She envisioned sailing over jumps, completing a perfect dressage routine. Collecting her own gold medal!
Grasping the side of the hot tub, she let her feet float out behind her and began the aquatic stretching exercises her physical therapist had prescribed. The splash of the water and the hum of the filtration system faded as she listened to her own breathing and saw that medal again, glinting as it was held aloft in front of her. Then the national anthem and the cheers.
“Uh, sorry to interrupt—”
Jessica froze at the closeness of the low, silky voice. She could hardly bring herself to look up. Skyler stood just a few feet away, with her arms folded across her chest and head cocked to the side. Her grin made Jessica’s face burn. Damn, damn, damn.
“Sure is early in the morning for skinny-dipping.” Skyler continued to stare down at her, obviously enjoying her embarrassment. “I do hope you’re planning to wear clothes for dressage later.”
Jessica clenched her teeth to stop the caustic remark on the tip of her tongue. She needed to get the upper hand on this woman just once. Collecting herself, she pulled herself up on the other side of the Jacuzzi and stood there naked, her unwavering gaze on Skyler. She waited for several seconds before sauntering toward her.
Skyler’s heart beat wildly as the dark-haired vision approached. The image of a feminine, yet well-toned, frame burned into her brain. This was Kate’s little girl. You are her trainer. You will not look down. The mantra her brain recited apparently wasn’t reaching the part that controlled her eyes. For an ever-so-brief second they flicked downward.
Kate would kill her.
Skyler took a step back. Jessica was just trying to get under her skin.She stopped only inches away, her naked flesh almost brushing Skyler’s shirt. Pale blue eyes looked deeply into hers. Skyler shifted her stance in a futile effort to relieve the building pressure between her legs. Her lips parted reflexively as she felt the warmth of Jessica’s breath on her face. She reminded herself that she’d seen beautiful women before. They only played with her until it become inconvenient. Then they dumped her. Remember?
Skyler’s clit twitched when Jessica’s pink tongue flicked out to wet her full lips. A hot blush crept up her neck and burned her ears as she struggled to appear nonchalant.
“You said seven.” Jessica lifted the towel hanging on the chair next to Skyler and stepped back to wrap it around her glistening body. “It’s only a little after six.”
Skyler sucked in a quick breath. “I…uh, I wanted to let you know I already fed Rampage a light breakfast.” Her voice was hoarse. She let her gaze travel down the sculpted shoulders to where the soft swell of Jessica’s breasts disappeared under the thick towel. “We probably should go over his training schedule in my office before we head to the ring.”
Amused by the effect she was having, Jessica couldn’t resist pushing it a little. She pulled the ends of the towel loose and brushed them across her erect nipples, wiping the droplets of water from them. Skyler’s eyes followed her movements before snapping to safer territory.
Looking everywhere but at her, the trainer said, “I want to see you work the stallion on…dressage this morning and on the jumps after lunch.”
“Yes, that’s what you said yesterday. I’ll be there as soon as I get dressed.” Jessica strolled toward the locker room. “I just have to ice my knee for a bit first.”
“Sure. See you there.” Skyler didn’t move. She stood staring down at the Jacuzzi.
Not so cocky now, are you? But you are lethally cute when you are flustered. Jessica paused at the locker room door. “I said I’ll be right down,” she repeated.
“Oh, right.” Skyler gulped a deep breath to regain her composure, then turned on a booted heel and exited with long, smooth strides. Images of Jessica’s pale, shapely hips filled her thoughts. Groaning, she muttered, “Yep, you are a big complication.”
*
Skyler’s boots crunched in the sand as she headed for the refuge of Creek Barn’s office. The more she thought about how easily Jessica had made her feel like a drooling idiot, the more her mood soured. She’d seen plenty of breasts before. She couldn’t believe she’d stood there stuttering like a stupid teenager. Skyler liked being in control. She resented the way those moments by the hot tub felt…like free falling with nothing to stop her. The heat was still rising up from her collar, and the throbbing between her legs irritated her. She just needed to get laid, that’s what. Too many nights in the barn lately.
Her eyes were drawn to the headlights traveling up the main drive. Alexandra Rourke. Coming in early to braid up Shoshanna’s mane before her ride. Skyler quickened her pace as she drew closer to the barn. It
was time to head back on to more familiar ground.
She entered the dim interior a few minutes after Alexandra had parked and disappeared inside. The full hips of the auburn-haired woman swayed as she pulled the comb through the mane of her sorrel Thoroughbred. Oh, yeah. Skyler licked her lips in anticipation and moved in on her prey.
Next to the smaller woman’s ear, she asked softly, “Is it my imagination or have you been trying to seduce me?” Alexandra froze as Skyler pressed her against the horse she was grooming and massaged her buttocks. “Well?” Skyler prompted, reaching around her body to caress her breasts. “Tell me what you want.”
Alexandra’s chest heaved. “I want you to make me scream when I come.”
Skyler chuckled. “I had such a hard-on when I woke up this morning, I was thinking of taking matters into my own hands. But here you are, those luscious hips swaying back and forth, inviting—no, begging—for a good fucking.”
She placed hot kisses down the back of Alexandra’s neck. The redhead tried to turn to intercept them with her own, but Skyler held her firm, grinding her hips against Alexandra’s fuller ones. God, she was turned on. She needed to feel in control, and she could sense Alexandra loved to be controlled. She was one of those women who wanted her to talk nasty. To take her.
“I know what you need, Alex, and you’re just what I need right now.”
Skyler began to free the buttons on Alexandra’s jeans. She heard a whimper as she worked her fingers toward the wetness that soaked Alexandra’s crotch. She found the growing clit and stroked it once, twice, then withdrew her fingers and leaned in so Alexandra could hear her licking the moisture from her hand.
“You taste so good.”
Alexandra whimpered. “Oh God. Please, Sky.”
“How can I resist when you ask so nice.” Skyler ground hard against her quarry’s buttocks.
“Why, Skyler, I didn’t know you cared so much,” Alexandra singsonged in low, silky tones. “Let’s go up to your apartment.”
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